Her Smile
by eclaire291
Summary: Kō watched from the sidelines, amazed that the shy little girl he had always protected was now the one doing the protecting. He reflects on his life and comes to a startling conclusion.
1. Destruction

Title: Her Smile  
Characters/Pairings: Kō and Hinata  
Author's Notes: My new favorite Naruto character? You guessed it: Kō Hyuuga. He is so adorable and I love the fact that he's so concerned for Hinata's wellbeing. This fanfiction is to show what was running through his mind as he helplessly watched Hinata sacrifice herself to protect Naruto. Oh, and there is no information on the unnamed Hyuuga that was with Sakura during Pein's Invasion. He is not actually Kō's brother and his name is not Jiro. I have created an identity for him for the purposes of this fanfiction.  
Disclaimer: I obviously don't own the Naruto franchise. If I did I'd actually have money, I probably wouldn't spend my time writing fanfiction, and KibaHina would be canon.

* * *

**Chapter One - Destruction**

Kō tried to free his arm from under the crumbled wall of a building. He fell back and gasped in pain as he finally managed to throw the crushing weight off. He didn't understand how this had happened. One moment, he had been escorting Hinata to the field outside the Hyuuga resident so she could collect flowers to press. The next moment, Konoha had been thrown into utter chaos. And now this. He solemnly glanced around the wreckage that was once Konoha. Everything had been destroyed.

Ignoring the stabbing pain in his arm, Kō managed to get to his feet. He scanned the area, trying to find Hinata. He spotted her a few feet away, crouching in the rubble as she tried to regain her bearings. Her clothing was coated with dust, but she seemed to be unscathed.

_Which is more than I can say for myself,_ Kō thought, clutching his left arm as he made his way to her. He dropped to his knees beside her and asked urgently, "Are you all right, Lady Hinata?"

She looked up, and he saw her gaze immediately travel to his wounded arm. "Yes, but Kō, you're injured," she said softly.

She reached out to touch his arm, but Kō grabbed her hand and pushed it away. He didn't have time to worry about his wounds. A broken arm was nothing compared to the wrath he would endure if Hinata were harmed. Even though Kō was part of the main Hyuuga clan, he didn't need a curse mark to remind him of where his loyalties lie. The future generations, the ones that would keep the Hyuuga name alive, were all that mattered.

The look of concern on her face and the warmth of her hand in his was medicine enough for Kō. Attempting a reassuring smile, he said solemnly, "If anything should happen to you during Lord Hiashi and Lady Hanabi's absence, I will be dishonored for life. You need not concern yourself with me."

"But I must," Hinata answered simply. She pulled her hand away and reached into her medical kit for a bandage wrap. "If everyone is injured while the head of the family is away, I will be the one scolded."

She proceeded to wrap the bandage around his wounded arm. Kō couldn't understand why she would do this for him. How could she willingly give so much yet not be begrudging? Kō bit his tongue, remembering the silent frustration he had felt when Lord Hiashi had first assigned him to be Hinata's bodyguard. He had never understood why an esteemed member of the Hyuuga clan would be given a task usually passed on to a member of the branch house. Of course, he had protected Hinata with all his being for the sake of the Hyuuga clan but not without that slight pang of resentment.

"Lady Hinata…" he whispered. Kō winced silently as she tied the bandage and returned the unused bandages to her medical kit.

She turned away to survey the damage caused by Pein's attack. The dust lashed against her face and through her hair, but she didn't flinch. Kō studied her, wondering what was going through her mind. He was taken aback when she stood up and turned to Katsuyu.

"Katsuyu, how did this happen?" she asked.

Katsuyu split into several smaller slugs to escape the rumble she had been trapped underneath and then reassembled until she was her previous size. Inching her way toward Hinata, she said, "Pein of the Akatsuki released a powerful repulsion jutsu that targeted the center of Konoha. The fact that it even reached this far is extraordinary."

"Hmm," Hinata murmured. She scanned the area again until she could see the large crater where the center of Konoha had once been. "We need to get closer. The more information we can get about Pein, the better."

At her words, Kō tried to stand up. His knees buckled and he dropped to the earth once again. Hinata quickly turned to him and said, "Please, save your strength, Kō."

"I can't let you go on ahead by yourself, Lady Hinata," Kō argued evenly.

He expected her to silently accept this, to stay with Katsuyu and him until a member of ANBU showed up to evacuate them. He didn't expect her to crouch next to him and place her arm around his back until her hand rested slightly above his ribcage. Supporting his weight, she slowly stood up. Before Kō could protest, Hinata said, "We have a duty to Konoha as well as the honor of the Hyuuga name."

Kō kept silent as Hinata led the way through the rumble with Katsuyu on their heels. It seemed like ages until they finally found a safe vantage point that overlooked the crater in the center of Konoha. Before they could observe the scene below, another explosion rocked the ground. Hinata climbed on to a crumbled pillar and activated her Byakugan to try to spot Pein through the settling dust. She gave a sudden gasp, startling Kō.

"Lady Hinata, what is it? Has our position been compromised?" Kō asked urgently.

"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata faltered, her voice barely above a whisper.

Perhaps it was the pain in his arm, but Kō didn't quite understand her. He glanced at her and noticed that her face had suddenly composed itself into an unreadable mask. Somewhat shocked, he activated his own Byakugan and looked down into the crater. He first noticed Pein standing in the center. He ignored the bile that rose in his stomach at the sight of Pein and instead directed his gaze to where Hinata had been looking only moments before.

He easily recognized the young shinobi. However, the chakra was something he had never seen before. It wasn't chakra from the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. It was something more balanced and perhaps more powerful. Fixated on the scene below, he said, "There's not mistake. It's definitely Naruto." _Even if that chakra isn't,_ he added as an unspoken afterthought.

"He's fighting alone!" Hinata exclaimed, starting to run toward the crater.

He watched her run away. Two feet away, five feet away, eight feet away. Surely she should have come to a halt by now, frozen in fear? But Kō could see she truly meant to fight Pein. Kō's eyes opened in shock, and he called after her, "No, Lady Hinata!"

She stopped abruptly but remained with her back to him. Her hand closed into a fist as she said with resolve, "But Naruto is risking his life for our village!"

"If you enter such a battle, you will only get in his way and put him at risk!"

Kō waited for her shoulders to sag, for her to dejectedly return to his side. However, she didn't even look at him. Her eyes were fixed on Naruto.

_Why?_ he wondered. _Why is she suddenly so determined? Why risk her life for this boy?_

He closed his eyes as he recalled all the years he had watched Hinata train and fall short of her father's expectations. They had been walking past the Academy one day when Kō had asked her what her goals were in life. He could still remember her reply. She had spoken it so adamantly, without pausing to consider the question.

"I want to grow up to be a great ninja…strong like Father and kind like Mother!"

That had been before training had started though. It had been before Hinata had proved to be a disappointment to Lord Hiashi, a disappointment to the Hyuuga name. It had been only a few days after her acceptance to the Academy that Lord Hiashi decided to see which Hyuuga heir was more powerful. He had forced Hinata to fight against her younger sister Hanabi.

Kō remembered kneeling at Lord Hiashi's side, already foreseeing the inevitable outcome of the match. Although Hinata had indeed inherited her mother's kindness, the strength of Lord Hiashi had been handed down to Hanabi. Hanabi was a ruthless fighter. They had barely begun fighting before Hanabi landed a lethal kick, throwing Hinata to the floor. Lord Hiashi had left before he could see Hinata's tears. Kō had seen them though.

"Does Father hate me?" Hinata had asked him later that day.

Kō could still remember his hesitance in answering that question. There was no doubt in his mind that Lord Hiashi was too hard on Hinata. He had faked a smile and answered a bit too quickly, "Lord Hiashi is very strict because he has high hopes for you."

"But I try my best. I train every day," Hinata had insisted, fighting back tears.

Kō slowly opened his eyes as he recalled the look on her face as she had run away from him. He glanced over at Hinata but instead of finding her standing amongst the rubble, he saw her running toward the crater once again.

"Lady Hinata!" he yelled, echoing the words from so many years ago.

Years ago she had run into a pack of schoolyard bullies after running away from Kō. This time she was running toward a danger far greater than bullies. Kō tried to stand, holding left arm but quickly collapsed again. He watched helplessly and realized that the look of her face was different from what it had been years ago. Instead of dejection, there was determination.

_Why…?_ he wondered.


	2. Protection

**Chapter Two - Protection**

Kō remembered the countless times he had warned Hinata against associating with Naruto. The devastation caused by the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox had been all too vivid in the minds of the villagers. Naruto, as the fox's jinchuuriki, had only served as a reminder of that.

That day Hinata had run into the group of schoolyard bullies, Naruto had tried to fend them off. Kō had seen the entire confrontation through his Byakugan, arriving too late to protect Naruto. However, instead of acknowledging the boy, he had attempted to drag Hinata away.

"Wait…he came to my rescue…" she had insisted.

Kō had pulled her away hastily, afraid of what Lord Hiashi would say if he heard Hinata had been seen with Naruto. "You must not get involved with him. Let's go…" he had said firmly, leading her back to the Hyuuga village.

"B-but…"

The dust had settled in the crater. Kō shook his head slowly. She had blindly accepted his words back then, but there was nothing that could dissuade her now. He watched as Hinata went into the fighting stance. Pein seemed unmoved by this, but Kō was speechless. He had never seen such determination in her eyes before. He was taken aback, when instead of attacking Pein she swung her leg around and began to cut down the blades pinning Naruto to the ground.

Kō watched in horror as Pein raised his hand and used his jutsu to casually push Hinata away as if she were nothing more than a pest. _Please, Lady Hinata, stay down. Let him win. There is nothing you can do,_ Kō thought. His eyes widened as he watched her get to her feet and wipe away the blood from her mouth. Instead of running away, she ran toward Naruto only to be once again thrown sideways by Pein.

As Hinata pressed her hands into the dust to lift herself up once again, Kō mirrored her move and dug his fingers into the dirt beside him. The determination in her eyes hadn't faltered despite the blows she had suffered. Kō watched her stand and was further amazed when she activated gentle step, twin lion fists. That was something she had never achieved during training. After missing him several times, Hinata finally managed to land a blow to the face. However, instead of finishing him off she took advantage of his distraction and began to attack the blades.

Kō felt as if his world had slipped into slow-motion as Pein turned to Hinata. Instead of simply repelling her, he forced her into the air until she impacted into the ground again. His fingers still gripping the dirt next to him, his fingers raw and bleeding, Kō waited for her to get to her feet again. However, her body was still.

"Lady Hinata…please…" he whispered.

After several agonizing moments, Hinata finally showed signs of consciousness. She slowly rolled on to her stomach and used her elbows to get up. Kō knew she had suffered severe injuries from Pein's attack. She immediately collapsed to the ground again. Dragging herself to her feet and swaying slightly, Hinata clutched her ribs. She still kept walking toward Naruto though. Kō couldn't understand it.

She collapsed after a few steps. Her knees threatened to give out, but she got up and gritted her teeth against the pain. Like a sleepwalker, she walked toward Naruto with a smile on her face. _A smile. How can she smile? Why is this so important to her?_ Kō wondered.

She collapsed only inches from Naruto. She crawled to him and forced herself on to her knees so she could pull the blade from his hands. Even though her arms were shaking, she lifted her head to smile at Naruto. Kō could already see the attack coming. He screamed out to Hinata at the same moment that Pein sent her spiraling into the air. Her body fell back to the ground at Pein's feet with a sickening thud.

Getting to his feet, Kō tried to take a step forward. He realized dazedly that he must have harmed his leg somehow as well. Up until now he hadn't noticed the splintering pain. His legs shook from the effort of standing and he fell back, landing on Katsuyu.

"No!" he yelled, watching as Pein brought his blade down into Hinata's back. He lost his concentration and his Byakugan failed. Closing his eyes to the scene below, Kō gave into the pain and slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Kō!"

"Master Kō, please wake up!" the voice of Katsuyu urged him.

Kō opened his eyes and saw two blurry faces looming over him. He sat up quickly as he recalled what had happened. He focused on the two people in front of him and was surprised to find Neji and his brother Jiro there. Perhaps he had been dreaming. He looked around and quickly dispensed with that theory. Konoha was perhaps even worse than before.

"Lady Hinata fought against Pein," Kō said.

He was surprised when Neji spun on him and demanded angrily, "How did this happen? Why did you let her do this?" Without waiting for an answer, Neji turned and ran down to the crater. Kō was surprised to see that Pein was no longer there. Neither was Naruto. Had they lost? Had Pein succeeded in capturing the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox?

"She's alive," Jiro said suddenly. "I was with Sakura when Lady Hinata fought against Pein. As soon as Naruto lured Pein away from Konoha, Sakura went to heal Lady Hinata. She hasn't regained consciousness yet but Sakura said it looks like she'll make a full recovery. Pein's blade missed everything vital."

Kō tried to get to his feet once again but Jiro restrained him. "No, brother, rest. You shattered your thigh bone and there's a deep laceration in your left arm. You may be Lady Hinata's bodyguard but you're also a member of the main Hyuuga clan. As a member of the branch house, I'm much more expendable. I'll join Neji and look after Lady Hinata until she regains consciousness."

They regarded each other silently for a moment and then Jiro added as an afterthought, "Why did she do it? Why did she try to take on an Akatsuki member by herself?"

Kō shook his head. He had easily read the conversation between Pein and Hinata though. His Byakugan hadn't missed a single detail of that battle. Hinata claimed Naruto's smile had saved her. Cutting his thoughts short, Kō looked at his brother and said, "She was protecting the one she loves."

"Hmm," Jiro considered this silently.

Kō removed his kunei and handed it over to Jiro. "Here," he said solemnly. "Go protect Lady Hinata. Protect her because she is a strong and kind shinobi, not because she's a member of the Hyuuga clan."

Jiro nodded and quickly made his way into toward the crater.

It was Naruto's smile that saved Hinata. Kō chuckled to himself. How ironic that it was Hinata's smile that had saved him.


End file.
